Circle of Trust

Thank you all for joining me ITG this morning to help me celebrate my 50th “Over the Hill” Birthday.  It is quite an honor to have each one of you chose to show up this morning to grind out a difficult hill beatdown with me, and I truly appreciate you for that.  Thank you!

As I get older and grapple with my own mortality, I have been very conscious about making better decisions when it comes to my health and fitness.  And this has been highlighted even more in the past few months, as I have had to watch and assist my mother, great aunt, and mother-in-law all struggle with significant health issues of their own.

We often say, “We get to do this.” and it is so true.  Having the ability to get out here and run 5 miles over a hill while doing burpees and blockees, just because some fool told us to, should be celebrated.  There are many people who can’t do this and wish every day that they could go back and make decisions to put themselves in a place where they could.  Our health is never guaranteed, nor is it everlasting.  However, we make choices daily that can dramatically improve or hinder the kind of future we are going to have.

On recommendation from Den Mother, I read Dr Peter Attia’s book, Outlive.  Dr. Attia talks about how people can increase not only their lifespan, but also our health-span, and speaks about training daily to help achieve a healthy and active life up to and beyond 100 years old.  He calls this the Centurion Olympics.  In this book and in many of his different podcasts, he speaks about a few critical items he believes has a direct correlation to longevity.  Below is a list, in order of importance, where he feels the average 50 year old American male likely is, where a fit 50 year old is, and where he feels we, as Centurion Athletes, should be targeting so that we have the opportunity to compete in our very own Centurion Olympics.

Rucking

Average 50-year-old might manage 10–20 lbs for 1–2 miles at 3–3.5 mph.

Fit individuals could ruck 30–50 lbs for 3–5 miles at 4 mph.

Peter Attia: 40-60lbs for 45-60 minutes while maintaining heartrate in zone 2

Dead Hang

Average 25-45 Seconds

Fit 70 seconds

Peter Attia: 60-90 seconds with target of greater than 120 seconds

One Leg Stand

Average 50-year-old might hold 15–25 seconds

Fit individuals, 30–45 seconds.

Peter Attia: Aim for 30 seconds per leg with eyes open and 15 seconds per leg with eyes closed

Further note: Mayo Clinic research shows balance declines by 1.7–2.2 seconds per decade on one-leg stands.

Farmer Carrying

Average 50-year-old might carry 20–30 lbs per hand for up to 100 feet.

Fit individuals could handle 50–70 lbs for 200–300 feet.

Peter Attia: 75-90lbs per hand for 60 seconds. Target 50% of your body weight per hand, and carry for 2 minutes without rest

Pull-Ups

Average 50-year-olds struggle with pull-ups where a man might manage 0–2

Fit individuals could do 5–10

Peter Attia: 5-8 Strict Pull ups with target of 8-12

Pushups

Average 50-year-old man can do 10–20 pushups consecutively

Fit individuals might achieve 25–40

Peter Attia: 30-40 in a minute with target of 50

Further note: A 2019 Harvard study linked 11+ pushups to lower heart disease risk, suggesting many 50-year-olds fall below this threshold.

Distance Running

Average 50-year-olds don’t regularly run long distances, but for those who do, an average 1-mile walk/run pace would range from 10–14 minutes based.

Fit individuals would complete a mile in 8–10 minutes.

Further note: Only about 10–15% of 50-year-olds engage in regular running, with 5K (3.1 miles) times averaging 35–45 minutes (11–14 min/mile pace).

Sit-Ups

Average 50-year-old might perform 15–25 sit-ups in 1 minute

Fit individuals could reach 30–40

Peter Attia: 30-40 in a minute

Data assembled from Dr. Peter Attia books and podcasts, Mayo Clinic, and Grok.

Where do you stand, and what are you planning to do TODAY to improve that?